As a boy growing up in secular Israel, Shahar becomes convinced that there must be a formula for a meaningful life and that Judaism might hold the answer. His search for certainty leads him deep into Orthodox Jewish practice, until unexpected encounters begin to unravel everything he thought he knew. Years later, living in San Francisco, far from the religious world he once embraced, Shahar finds himself drawn toward something he thought he'd left behind. A story about belief, doubt, and the surprising ways the sacred finds us when we least expect it.

When Moses turned and saw the bush that burned but was not consumed, it wasn't a once-in-a-lifetime miracle, it was a map. Maybe the bush had always been burning. It just took someone willing to turn, to notice, to say this is sacred ground. Everyday Mystics tells the real stories of people who have had that turning. Small, ordinary moments that cracked open into something larger. Their stories of transformation weave Jewish wisdom bringing forward an old/ new way of understanding mystical experience and the everyday. These are stories of when the ordinary becomes sacred, the familiar becomes mysterious, and Judaism becomes beautifully unbound.

References

[1] Here is the citation for the story about the Baal Shem Tov. It is a story made known by Elie Wiesel in his book, The Gates of the Forest (1966).

[2] Lecha Dodi is a prayer from the 16th century. Check out this page of resources on Lecha Dodi or this episode of Shabbat Unbound to learn more and to hear some of the many tunes!

[3] Gematria is Jewish numerology. The letters in the Hebrew alphabet are also numbers. Learn more about it here, calculate the numerology of your name or other words here.

[4] We share an abbreviated version of a sacred story, in Genesis Rabbah 1:1, about God looking into the Torah like a blueprint. Here is the full citation of that story.

[5] Shahar mentions getting into a car on Shabbat. This is a pretty extraordinary violation of Shabbat according to traditional Jews, which is why it was so hard for him to do.

[6] Here is the citation (Numbers 15) for the consequence of Skifah, to be stoned to death, for violating the Sabbath.

[7] We told the classic David Foster Wallace parable about the fish in water. Here it is in his voice, where he shared it in a commencement speech at Kenyon College in 2005.

[8] Are you interested in learning more about a Shabbat Service at Burning Man? You can see photos and watch videos about it here. Our friend, Rabbi Tzvika Krieger, is one of the co-creators of this Sabbath experience and leads the spiritual community of Chochmat Lev in Berkley, Ca.

[9] We mention the mystical practice of Hitboddedut (speaking aloud to God). To learn more about mystical practices, check out Kirva, an organization that leads folks spiritual action.

In Episode 557, Lex and Rena Yehuda explored the question "Does Judaism need halacha" (sometimes translated "Jewish law," and also sometimes translated "a Jewish path/way-of-walking in the world), using a format called the "anti-debate." Today, Stephanie Lepp -- the person who inspired that conversation by launching the anti-debate as a project -- joins them to look back on that conversation...and also ask big questions about Jewish debate throughout history.

Head to JudaismUnbound.com/classes to check out our up upcoming course, called Judaism in 2070: Co-Creating the American-Jewish Future, and taught by Becca Leviss! For anyone who needs it, financial aid is available.

Access full shownotes for this episode via this link. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation -- support Judaism Unbound by clicking here!

How much of who we are is shaped by the people who came before us, and how much do we get to choose? For Marika Strauss, that question has followed her from childhood conversations with her father and grandfather to unexpected encounters in her own adult life. Along the way, she discovers that Jewish identity has many faces, and that the people we love can become mirrors in which we see ourselves anew. A story about family, belonging, and the freedom to become someone our ancestors might never have imagined.

When Moses turned and saw the bush that burned but was not consumed, it wasn't a once-in-a-lifetime miracle, it was a map. Maybe the bush had always been burning. It just took someone willing to turn, to notice, to say this is sacred ground. Everyday Mystics tells the real stories of people who have had that turning. Small, ordinary moments that cracked open into something larger. Their stories of transformation weave Jewish wisdom bringing forward an old/ new way of understanding mystical experience and the everyday. These are stories of when the ordinary becomes sacred, the familiar becomes mysterious, and Judaism becomes beautifully unbound.

References

[1] Read more about Marika and her journey on her substack.

[2] We mention a two different sources here: Genesis 33 (Jacob and Esau reuniting), Exodus 34 (Moses’s face)

[3] Emmanuel Levinas is brought up in passing. If you want to learn more about his life and work, here is a nice article on him. If you want to dig into his ontology on le visage, that philosophy first appears in his work, “Totality and Infinity” in 1961.

[4] If you’re like… wait a second… I’ve heard these names before… then, you’re right! You’ve probably listened to our Door to Door podcast, that follows the story of this family to Simon’s home in Germany.

[5] Marika talks about “Wabi Sabi Shabbat”. If you want to read a little more about Wabi Sabi, here is a nice article on it, and here is a brief sermonette by Ariel Stein on Wabi Sabi.

[6] Finding meaning and grounded identity through 23&Me (or other genetic tests) is a common experience. If this is you, you’re in good company. Here is a brief article on a similar experience.